Lightronics House Master

Hi! We have a Lightronics TL3256 (about to upgrade to a TL2448) and wonder if anyone has used the "House Master" on the board. According to the manual, the house lights are assigned to dimmer 99 on the board, but how does one actually connect the lights to the board?? Will we have to sacrifice a channel on one of our dimmer packs and wire the house lights into it? The house lights are currently controlled by two rotary type dimmer switches (Front house/Back house) about seven feet away from the control board. Thanks!

Hi! We have a Lightronics TL3256 (about to upgrade to a TL2448) and wonder if anyone has used the "House Master" on the board. According to the manual, the house lights are assigned to dimmer 99 on the board, but how does one actually connect the lights to the board?? Will we have to sacrifice a channel on one of our dimmer packs and wire the house lights into it? The house lights are currently controlled by two rotary type dimmer switches (Front house/Back house) about seven feet away from the control board. Thanks!

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You would need a DMX controllable dimmer that your house lights would need to be wired up to. This means that you need a certified electrician to do the wiring for you. The dimmer pack would have to be set to address 99 and then it could be controlled form your console.

You would need a DMX controllable dimmer that your house lights would need to be wired up to. This means that you need a certified electrician to do the wiring for you. The dimmer pack would have to be set to address 99 and then it could be controlled form your console.

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We're about to purchase another NSI DS-1224E dimmer pack (we have two now), giving us 36 dimmers. If I understand you correctly, we could have the house lights wired into, say, dimmer 36, leaving us with 35 dimmers for stage light operation, right? Or should we also invest in an additional DMXdimmer pack with two-four dimmers?

We're about to purchase another NSI DS-1224E dimmer pack (we have two now), giving us 36 dimmers. If I understand you correctly, we could have the house lights wired into, say, dimmer 36, leaving us with 35 dimmers for stage light operation, right? Or should we also invest in an additional DMXdimmer pack with two-four dimmers?

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While not 100% necessary, it's always a good idea to run your houselights off a separate dimmer rack and circuit. This will prevent the failure of your house lighting in the event that your stage dimmers fail or you blow the circuit breaker running your stage dimmers. Also, local building codes may require that your house lighting be wired in such a way that it automatically turns on if you lose power via backup power or the fire alarm activates.

We're about to purchase another NSI DS-1224E dimmer pack (we have two now), giving us 36 dimmers. If I understand you correctly, we could have the house lights wired into, say, dimmer 36, leaving us with 35 dimmers for stage light operation, right? Or should we also invest in an additional DMXdimmer pack with two-four dimmers?

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What [user]Sony[/user] said, and also, you would not be able to just wire the house lights into your new dimmer pack unless you wanted to set that dimmer pack such the the dimmer on which the house lights were wired would have the address of 99. This would prove to be especially difficult if you needed more than one dimmer for your house lights.

If you really want to have your house lights controlled form your console then, as I said before, you need to consult with a qualified electrician. While this may seem like a potentially simple wiring job, but you are dealing with a health & safetysystem, and you don't want the liability to fall to you. You may also need to consult with someone who knows your local building codes with regards to emergency egress lighting and such.

What [user]Sony[/user] said, and also, you would not be able to just wire the house lights into your new dimmer pack unless you wanted to set that dimmer pack such the the dimmer on which the house lights were wired would have the address of 99. This would prove to be especially difficult if you needed more than one dimmer for your house lights.

If you really want to have your house lights controlled form your console then, as I said before, you need to consult with a qualified electrician. While this may seem like a potentially simple wiring job, but you are dealing with a health & safetysystem, and you don't want the liability to fall to you. You may also need to consult with someone who knows your local building codes with regards to emergency egress lighting and such.

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Thank you Icewolf08 and Sony This is not a major priority, just a feature on the board that would be cool to use. Thank you also for your concern with the electrical issues and potential hazards. We had an electrician come in and hard wire our two NSIs, each on its own circuit, and will do the same with the new DS1224E should this grant come through. I rigged a 3v light to the witch's broom for Oz, powered by a 9v battery, and was nervous enough about that, lol. We have the required emergency lights in case of power failure, but I understand the safety issues with ensuring the safety of others. I don't think the local regs require house lights to come up automatically in case of emergency, but it is an excellent idea! While I tend to go by the "Do as I say, not as I do" rule when teaching others, I really am otherwise big on safety

My cousin- who is also heavily involved up there- and I are getting the ball rolling on moving the light/sound booth to UC House instead of its current location UL House. When this happens, we may just have the house light rotarys located within arm's reach of the console. I'll post some pics of our space under the newbie section at some point soon, unless there's a better section any of you might recommend. Despite its shortcomings, it really is a neat space, and has served us well for the last 32 years...

I don't think the local regs require house lights to come up automatically in case of emergency, but it is an excellent idea!

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It may depend on the size of your space, if normal emergency lights are capable of covering your entire theatre then an ELTS (Emergency Lighting Transfer System) may not be needed. I know in the theatre I work at we have 800 seats and there is no way that wall mounted emergency lighting is able to cover the seating area adequately. So when the theatre was built they installed an ELTS in order to automatically switchhouse lighting over to an emergency generator if the power cuts out and the system can't be overrided, the lights turn on no matter what even if no one is in the building, no control board needed. Like [user]icewolf08[/user] said you should contact a local certified master electrician, they will know your local codes and can advise you on what you will need.